Corruption fighter judge given task of ending 'blind eye' culture

Megan Levy, Harriet Alexander

THE federal government has admitted that the culture of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service needs to be changed, following allegations that its officers have been involved in drug trafficking, money laundering and organised crime.

The Home Affairs Minister, Jason Clare, said that a new board had been appointed to root out corruption in the Customs Service, including Justice James Wood, who oversaw a royal commission that exposed corruption in the NSW Police Force.

But he said details on how the structure and culture of the Customs Service would be reformed would not be announced until next year.

''You've got to change the culture of the organisation,'' Mr Clare said.

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''You've got to create an organisation where it's not acceptable to turn a blind eye, where it's not acceptable not to report something where you see it happening.

''The federal police has got a different standard here. My view is that customs need to be at that same standard, because they're at the same risk of being corrupted by organised crime.''

A six-month investigation by Fairfax Media and the ABC's 7.30 has revealed at least 15 officials in Sydney Airport border security posts are suspected of involvement in serious misconduct or corruption.

The alleged misconduct ranges from criminal association and leaking information to drug trafficking and manufacturing, money laundering and bribery.

The Australian Federal Police announced on Thursday that eight people had been arrested over suspected airport drug trading, including a customs officer and a quarantine inspector.

The are believed to be members of a syndicate exploiting major gaps in airport and customs security at Sydney Airport.

The Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Tony Negus, said it was alleged that couriers were sent overseas to collect drugs before returning through customs with the help of people in ''trusted positions''.

''Certainly what has been alleged before the courts so far is that the customs officers involved in this would meet drug couriers off the plane,'' Mr Negus said.

''They would then walk them through the primary line of customs and then out into the waiting hall, so they would facilitate their entry through the normal checks and the normal law enforcement processes that everyone goes through when they enter this country.''

Mr Clare said three ''distinguished Australians'' had been appointed to the new Customs Reform Board, which would report directly to him. They are Justice Wood, the former NSW police commissioner Ken Moroney, and David Mortimer, the former chief executive of TNT Limited, former deputy chairman of Ansett and former chairman of Australia Post and Leighton Holdings.